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Investigative Podcast Launches Over Transgender Inmate Case – Boise State Public Radio

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Our friends at Boise State Public Radio have an awesome new podcast that can shed light on our community. Here is their official press release.

Investigative Podcast Launches Over Transgender Inmate Case

LOCKED examines ground-breaking prisoner lawsuit against Idaho

BOISE, IDAHO, July 8, 2019 — Boise State Public Radio and the Mountain West News Bureau today released LOCKED – a podcast about a transgender inmate who is suing the state of Idaho for sex reassignment surgery. 

The story looks at the case of Adree Edmo, which is now being weighed before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. If Edmo wins, she’ll be the first inmate to receive the surgery through court order, and that could create ripple effects in prisons across the west and potentially the nation. 

The investigative podcast explores the complicated backstory of Edmo, a member of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes who was sent to prison for up to ten years for sexual assault of a 15-year-old boy when she was 22. It also explains gender dysphoria — distress from a person’s outward appearance not aligning with their own gender identity.  

The story describes the experience of transgender inmates and how they’re treated in prisons, and explains the science and procedure of gender confirmation surgery. And finally, the podcast explains Edmo’s legal case and the public controversy surrounding it. Edmo argues that denying her the surgery is cruel and unusual punishment, but the state and its health provider say she doesn’t need it. 

“We’re at a critical moment both for our criminal justice system and for transgender rights,” says Amanda Peacher, host of the podcast. “This case is at the crux of both those discussions. That’s why we thought this was an important and timely story to tell.” 

The first four episodes of LOCKED are available now, wherever podcasts are provided, and on our website. Another episode will be released when the 9th Circuit issues a ruling in Edmo’s case.

“Win or lose, this case has important implications for our region and beyond,” says Kate Concannon, managing editor of the project. “The podcast format allows us to give this story the depth and time it warrants.”  

About Boise State Public Radio

Boise State Public Radio is non-commercial, independent public media for Idaho. It features a news service and a music service, with leading national programs from NPR and other public radio distributors. Licensed by Boise State University, the radio network serves two-thirds of the population of Idaho through 18 transmitters & translators.

About the Mountain West News Bureau

The Mountain West News Bureau is a regional news collaboration of public radio newsrooms in Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado and Nevada: Boise State Public Radio, based in Boise; KUER, based in Salt Lake City; Wyoming Public Media, based in Laramie; KRCC, based in Colorado Springs; KUNC, based in Greeley; and KUNR, based in Reno. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

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